Like most superhero sequels, Blade II goes for bigger and flashier without much thought about whether or not that will actually make things better. We got a slightly inferior sequel as a result. Although that's more due to the direction the plot took. Luckily, Blade found himself in the very capable hands of Guillermo del Toro. So things aren't a complete wash. In fact they are still quite stylish and cool. The director's always excellent visuals and attention to detail in every aspect of his gothic design for environments, costumes, creatures, and various gadgets and gizmos are on full display here. The outfits in particular look great with even the small accessories standing out because of how wonderfully crafted and imaginative they are. The CGI also holds up pretty well 16 years later. Something that is very evident in the final showdown as the scene relies quite heavily on it and still looks better than the vibranium mines fight scene in this year's Black Panther. The gore is spectacular, especially when brought to life with practical effects, and all of the director's usual visual fetishes can be found inside. The action as a whole isn't as enjoyable as the first Blade's. The first two sequences where Blade chases vampires down some alleys and a swordfight in his hideout are actually kind of boring. Everything that follows is a lot more fun, but this may just be due to the cool locations they occur in and the expansion of the cast as opposed to the actual choreography of the battles themselves. The climactic fight however is spectacular and the highlight of the movie. There are a lot of brutal hits exchanged and a natural aggression on display that makes the violence all the more exciting. It's probably one of my favorite fight sequences in any superhero movie bar none. Blade is given much more personality this time around. His cocky smiles and trash talk are a blast thanks to Wesley Snipes effortlessly cool performance. If it weren't for him the character's actions would actually just be laughable as at the end of the day this is a very cheesy movie. Given how Snipes was born to play this role however, the audience will only crack up when the actor wants us to. More liveliness aside, the daywalker still isn't fleshed out. The plot doesn't feature vampires as the main antagonists this time. Instead there's a third race of creatures introduced that force Blade to team up with his longtime enemies. This allows for more side-characters to be introduced and ultimately a higher body count, but the premise just isn't as interesting. Luke Goss is a cool villain though. The most disappointing part of the story though is the romance. Or rather the lack thereof. Blade's love interest is kind of bland and their connection doesn't work as anything more than physical. That wouldn't have necessarily been a bad thing if the script didn't begin to try and convince us that there was some sort of deeper connection between them at a certain point. Something it fails miserably at. Love is a plot device the vast majority of superhero movies have been unable to get right and unfortunately Blade II stands out as one of the genre's worst attempts in this department. Yes, Blade II suffers from a minor case of diminishing returns. Yet with one of cinema's foremost masters of the macabre at the helm there's still plenty to like. It's kind of interesting to think that it's del Toro's direction might be the only thing that saved this sequel. Because in a lot of ways it just feels like a trial run for his later (and better) comic book adaptation of Hellboy.